One Day At A Time
by TML
Summary: Short Story- The thoughts that go through Doug's mind as he thinks on the sudden turn his life has taken. Is he ready to accept that he is indeed Carl Hauser?


One Day At A Time

AN: I have seen this movie 20 or more times in the last week… so of course a story came out of it…and I own nothing!

My name is Douglas Quaid, I was born on August 29th, a factory worker from the colony, married to my childhood love.

When had my life fallen apart? What was real anymore? My life as I knew it was a lie, a memory, a figment of my imagination, a lie implanted to keep an eye on me. My friends, or as I believed they were, were nothing more than babysitters, assigned to watch me and steer me from my past. My wife of 7 years, Lori, killed by my own hands, the same hands that killed my friend Harry. I look down at my hands, the scar in the center of my palm screams at me. The same scar mirrored on Melina's palm.

Melina, the woman Hauser had fallen in love with, the woman who had convinced him to fight for the resistance. The same woman who convinced me to fight.

I look over to the corner of the room where she is resting, her back to me. I look away when she moves not wanting to get caught staring. I look back when I'm sure she's still asleep. I move closer watching her face as she sleeps, the crease in her brow giving away the restless sleep. She moves again shaking her head. I wonder what it is she's dreaming of.

As I continued to watch I became angry with myself, this whole time I had been having a pity party, like I had been the only one affected by all this, not once had I thought about how she felt and what she was going through. The whimper draws my attention. I look down to find a pained expression on her face. I grow angrier at myself. How could I be so blind? So selfish?

From what she's told me we were/are an item. She lost me not knowing whether I was dead, only to find me with no memory of her and married to another woman. I spent so much time feeling sorry for myself while she had the person she loved taken away from her. Hauser was so close to her but so out of reach.

Another whimper interrupts my thoughts. I didn't want to wake her. I wasn't ready to deal with the emotions I was fighting. I know I care for her, I know he loved her. I know he loved her enough that she penetrated my dreams even when I had no memory of my old life, but I was not him. Would she expect everything of me as she did him?

My decision to wake her was made for me when she let out a pained cry. A single tear running down her face. It pained me to see her like this. I move closer placing a hand on her shoulder. "Melina you need to wake up." She tenses up at my touch. I shake her harder. "Melina you need to wake up." I say louder this time. Her eyes shot open as her arms shot up to protect herself. I couldn't help the hurt I felt at this. Was she protecting herself from me? Could I blame her?

There was pain and confusion in her eyes. In that moment, I knew, loving her would not be difficult, after all a part of me already did. All I wanted was to take the pain I was witnessing. "Doug?" she questioned slowly. She had made an effort to make this easy on me no matter how hard and painful it was for her. "I thought…I thought they'd changed you back." She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"It's Hauser." I let the words sink in. Realization hitting her slowly, she relaxed her arms and sat up.

"Bad dream?" I didn't need to ask, her whimpers had already told me it was. She nodded playing with the scar on her hand. The scar that connected us. "Cohaagen managed to implant the old Hauser back, the loyal and ruthless one, he was sent in to get a confession." Her voice dropped, I didn't need for her to continue, I knew what had happened next. I reached to cup her face slowly, when she didn't move away I kissed her forehead slowly, gently pulling her into my arms. She held on to me tightly sighing into my chest.

"I've missed you." She squeezed tighter. "I know things are different now, I'm just glad you're okay." She was right, things were different.

"One day at a time." I offer. I wasn't ready to make promises. I didn't want to get her hopes up and disappoint her.

She nodded a large smile on her face. "One day at a time."

My name is Carl Hauser, I was born on April 29th, an intelligence agent gone traitor fighting for the resistance for the love of this woman.

AN: I hope you enjoyed….


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